The Mix-d: Journey

Understanding the Mix-d: Journey

To build a strong bond with your child it is important to be aware of their individual experiences of their identity. We have encountered hundreds of young people from mixed-race backgrounds and observed that they experience or go through one or all of the following stages. Be aware and simply observe what might be happening for your child.

Nowhereness

A sense or feeling that they do not belong to either racial group. This experience can be compounded by adults, professionals or friends who might say you are not black enough to be black, white enough to be white or Asian enough to be Asian.

Somewhereness

This is a time when a young person may over-identify with one side of their parent culture or feel an imbalance due to disowning a large parent of their parent heritage - hence feel a sense or lack of ʻcompletenessʼ.

Groundedness

This is the place that many young people appear to arrive at after they have experienced the two previous stages. It is a place where they cease waiting for others to tell them what they are and begin to extract desirable elements from both parent cultures and create an identity which is not specifically like either. From this point they can begin to navigate their own journey to a positive sense of self.

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Mix-d: Parenting is work in progress. We would appreciate any feedback you have about this section.

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